By GB News (World News) | Created at 2025-01-09 16:31:07 | Updated at 2025-01-10 01:49:10
9 hours ago
A disabled woman and her husband were left devastated after Ryanair refused to let them board their flight from Manchester Airport due to a 'slight rip' in his passport.
Abriella Monroe, 32, who is paraplegic, and her husband Sebastien, 36, were meant to be flying to Tenerife for a two-week birthday celebration holiday on Wednesday morning.
The couple, from Wythenshawe, had to watch their flight depart without them despite successfully using the passport earlier at check-in and for duty-free purchases.
Sebastien, who is also Abriella's carer, was turned away at the boarding gate by airline staff.
The couple was held at Manchester Airport (file pic)
PA
Manchester Airport (file pic)
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"We checked in at special assistance check-in. We showed our boarding passes and our passports and there was no problem," said Abriella.
She explained they successfully checked in their luggage and wheelchair, and Sebastien used his passport to exchange money at Travelex and purchase duty-free items.
However, at the boarding gate, while Abriella was cleared to travel, a staff member took "a two second look" at Sebastien's passport before refusing him entry.
"We tried to reason with him and asked to speak to someone higher up, but it was no use," she said.
A Ryanair spokesperson issued a statement
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After being denied boarding, the couple had to go through Border Force to exit the airport. Border Force officers told them Sebastien's passport was perfectly valid for travel, according to Abriella.
The couple then faced an hour-long wait to retrieve their checked luggage and Abriella's wheelchair, which had been removed from the plane."We will definitely be complaining to Ryanair as soon as we get home. The passport is just slightly torn. We can fully see his details, passport number and his photograph," Abriella said.
They now face a trip to HM Passport Office in Liverpool to try to salvage their holiday.
A Ryanair spokesperson said: "The UK Passport Office defines what constitutes as a damaged passport, not Ryanair. This passenger was correctly refused travel from Manchester to Tenerife (8 January) as his passport was damaged and therefore not valid for travel."
